Pit Start for Snakes

“Pit start” for snakes, reported in ScienceNOW 15 Nov 2004. The complete item reads: “Biologists have long thought that pit vipers use the heat-sensing pits on their faces mainly to track warm-blooded prey. But a paper in the 15 November Journal of Experimental Biology finds that the pits also help the snakes gauge the temperature of their surroundings. Knowing when to slither underground to beat the heat is a key survival skill for these cold-blooded creatures, and the researchers say that thermoregulation, not hunting, may be why the pits evolved.”

Editorial Comment: This is good evidence for the historical accuracy of the book of Genesis. In the very good world God created, snakes would need thermoregulation even if they didn't hunt prey. As the world degenerated after the Fall of Man and Noah's flood and many animals became carnivores as food availability decreased, pit vipers were able to use a heat detecting sense organ they already had for another function. (Ref. adaptation, reptiles, carnivores)